the oldest of the
great long poems written in English more than 1200 years ago

composed in the
first half of the 8th century

deals with their
Germanic forebears, with 2 south Scandinavian tribes--the Danes and the Geats.

concerns a time
following the initial invasion of England by Germanic tribes in 449 (5th~6th Cent.)

the composer
Christianizes most of the supernatural references and softens the bloody overtones of the
original poem (to remove the pagan deities

Beowulf
reflects a Christian tradition and the warrior society

God: the Creator of
all things; the ruler of the Heavens

God's will:
identical with fate (wyrd)

Grendel: descendent
of Cain

the race of giant
destroyed by flood ; the dead await God's judgement

But no
reference to the New Testament

Beowulf
also reflects an ancient pagan, warrior society tradition, as shown in the sense oftragic waste.

calls
powerful responses from people of that time though it was several centuries after the
conversion of the English

In
the warrior society,the values
the poem invokesare:
1) human relationship between the warrior (the thane) and his lord--mutual trust
and respect, loyaltytreasure--a
kind of visible proof that all parties are realizing themselves to the full in a spiritual
sense; symbolic importance (spiritual material; give honor/worth, value; ultimate
achievement) The warrior society centered in the mead-hall provided by the lord for his
and their protection Gift-giving: acknowledging one's worth (primitive
and sophisticated) Boasting: challenging yourself to gain renown, reputation: feeling of
worth
2)
relationship between kinsmen to exact wergild (manprice) or to take vengeance for their
kinsmen's death

the
need to take vengeance created never-ending feuds, bloodshed, a vast web of reprisals and
counter-reprisals (a strong sense of doom)

fatal
evil: Grendel and the dragon In undertaking to slay Grendel, and later Grendel's mother,
Beowulf istesting his
relationship with unknowable destiny. Whether he lives or dies, he will have done all that any man could do to
develop his character heroically

courage/
fate / "the boasting"

pagan
immortality--the memory in the minds of later generation; through the writing of the poet.

Existential: death/darkness closing in-- each day, pushing death
away

Belonging to finding
something meaningful; basic to all men
1) What is the function of the sea in Beowulf?
2) What happens in the Finnsburg episode? What is the relationship of this interpolated
tale to the rest of the poem?

Warssettled by Beowulf peach kept Beowulf's
death feud going on again thecontest
/eternal conflict between dark and light, good and evil

Fate: "fate often saves the undoomed man when his courage
is good." "God often saves the man when his courage is good."
Fate: God's will and one's own courage together (p. 40) Courage is the quality that can
perhaps influence Fate.

But Beowulf himself
is chiefly concerned not with tribal feuds but with fatal evil that threatens to the
security of the lands. Because the evil monsters are outside the normal order of things,
they require of their conqueror something greater than normal warfare requires. Unlike
Beowulf, the old Hrothgar lacks this quality that later impels the old Beowulf to fight
the dragon. Hrothgar is not the kind of man to develop his human potential to the fullest
extent that Fate would permit: that is Beowulf's role.

Boasting: a warrior's tradition--a way of forcing oneself to
achieve a higher level, to find the best. When one boasts, he is choosing the heroic
way of life. One's boast becomes a vow; the hero has put himself in a position from which
he cannot withdraw.

Treasure :Beowulf
gives the gift received from Hrothgar to Hygelac, his king (p.55)--a gesture of good will,
a gesture of generosity. These gifts are proof of Beowulf's value/worth as a warrior. p.40

Understatement(to say less than might be said; a typical way of speaking in old English)

"He had no need to be
ashamed before fighting men of those rich gifts." (p. 40)
"There was no need for the Hetware to exult in the foot-battle when they bore
their shields against him: few came again from that warrior to seek their homes."
(Most of them died)

Stories of
Sigmund and Heremodtold by ascop(bard) seem to be material outside the epic--digression(sth. not to the point)--stories of earlier heros--but actually not.

Interlacing (weaving things together)

Ex. Unferth tells the story of
Beowulf's swimming contest with Breca (p. 33) which leads to the story of Beowulf's fight
with water monsters. This story is repeated later as Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother.

Grendel's
mother's revengeA simple story told in complicated way to make it rich. The
seeming digression is actually interlacing (a way oo understatement, too) --for comparison
and contrast. ex. Unferth & Beowulf

a
warrior taking risk to become greatest possible hero, to get glory and protect his people.
But sometimes these two values (to get fame and to protect people) cannot be reconciled
just like Beowulf at the end who dies after fighting with the dragon and leaves his people
leaderless, unprotected. ( --to develop heroism to the highest as a hero =/= --to protect
his people)

the
problem of feud (tragic waste): the system of revenge brings no long peace to avenge one's
kinsmen's death yet lead constant fighting. Sometimes the king's daughter is used as peace
bringer; manprice--wergild--a way to end feud Grendel's mother's revenge & dragon's
revenge

the society in
Beowulf: quite high civilization, not primitive, have good manner

Beowulf: an epic,
not as complete as Homer's epics more elegy than epic: a poem honoring Beowulf: his heroic
exploits and his death-- the past hero--honoring the past way of life

The poet honored the
hero and the end of a cultural group far earlier in the old English periodto take
the past of old culture that is coming to an end and a good start of new Christian
culture.The poem ends with Beowulf's death: the old society, something
beautiful has passed awayHuman--mortality